Charity DrugScope said Sunderland City Council, which has sent letters to 50,000 parents of secondary school pupils in the area informing them sniffer dogs may be used to detect drugs, was being too heavy-handed.
A spokeswoman for the charity said the council's move "sends out the wrong message since the majority of children have absolutely nothing to do with drugs.
"As far as we are concerned, no council has ever gone this far before and it is very worrying that it has decided to do this."
She said the move might also prove to be ineffectual because pupils using drugs could be encouraged to play truant if dogs were allowed into schools, and might be less likely to seek help.
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